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Mangrove researchers on the move

JCU mangrove researchers and leaders of NERP project 2.2, Dr Norm Duke and Dr Damien Burrows, will be attending an international conference on mangrove ecosystems in Sri Lanka in early July.

Dr Duke said the conference, which is held once every six years, would give them an opportunity to network with other researchers and to discuss key issues regarding mangrove health assessment and their improved management. As well, Dr Duke is presenting a paper about his work monitoring coastal condition using mangroves and saltmarsh as indicators.

The JCU team is advancing an innovative coastal assessment method, known as Shoreline Video Assessment Methodology (S-VAM). The method involves continuous recording of geo-referenced video of shorelines from either small vessels (undertaken by local rangers as part of the MangroveWatch program) and from low-flying helicopters (as part of the NERP project).

Dr Duke said the team had already filmed Moa and Badu Islands from the air and were currently processing the data and preparing to film and survey other island groups across Torres Strait.

All these surveys will provide invaluable baseline records of shoreline habitats and their condition – essential information for measuring current and future change.